


If I Shoot You There, I Promise That It'll Hurt

by BreakTheDawn



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: And Is Shooketh, BAMF Prompto Argentum, But Gladio Doesn't Know, Gen, Hypothetical Musing, Prompto Proves Himself, So Is Ignis Really, Talking About Guns, he finds out, supportive Noctis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-16 17:38:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16958529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreakTheDawn/pseuds/BreakTheDawn
Summary: “So you’re saying that you could lay me flat, then?” Gladio challenges, maybe a little mean. But Prompto’s talking a lot, and Gladio has yet to see anything on this entire trip that backs up the kid’s words. Prompto huffs.“Now you’ve went and done it,” Noctis mutters, somehow sounding sleepy and delighted all at the same time.“When you swing your sword overhead,” Gladio’s never heard such a deadpan tone out of Prompto before, “you arch your back a little to get the right leverage, you keep your elbows in close just in case you have to guard your torso at the last second, and you step forward with your right foot.ORNoctis chose Prompto to be his Crownsguard for a reason people.





	If I Shoot You There, I Promise That It'll Hurt

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my lovelies! Is this Dawn posting a oneshot even though I have multiple in progress stories that need updating? Sure IS!
> 
> But seriously, this was one of the pieces I wrote as a part of NaNoRiMo, which I basically used as an excuse to write a bunch of oneshots and procrastinate lols. I just got around to editing it and fixing it up to post, so here it is! Enjoy our sunshine child shaking our resident Big Guy to his core! More serious notes at the end!
> 
> P.S. Minor warning, This Prompto is characterized as having an anxiety disorder, but it is not explicitly explored, and only really mentioned briefly. Take from that what you will and read safely!

If Gladio was to be perfectly honest, he’d describe Prompto as mostly reliable, but not overly impressive. Noctis would have his head for saying such a thing, but wouldn’t be able to say anything to sway Gladio- or Ignis even- otherwise. The fact of the matter was as such, Prompto was an inexperienced and last minute addition to their trip to Altissia, and while the blonde had been in talks to start a Crownsguard curriculum for months before actually buckling down and working underneath Cor, it didn’t change the fact that he had a mere month of training to the their years of preparation. 

 

Gladio would compare him to a standard issue Crownsguard blade. Good enough to get the job done, extremely effective when employed by one with experience and a bit of creativity, but still very prone to knicks and potentially fatal when coupled with user error. Prompto could shoot, better than any of them combined if one were to put it to numbers, and he had very respectable maneuverability. He was scrappy in situations when his back was to the wall, and he was surprisingly intuitive in the dark. When he followed Iggy’s instructions to the tee and didn’t put himself in a vulnerable position, he was most certainly an asset on the battlefield. 

 

But he was fragile, couldn’t take too many hits before going down, and tended to make ridiculous calls when left to his own devices. And so when they took on an endeavor just a bit above Prompto’s pay grade, everything tended to get a bit more difficult as they all tried to compensate. Not nearly enough so that Gladio or Ignis would consider trying to dismiss him. One, Noctis would never stand for it. Two, the strength in numbers they had was invaluable. 

 

Facts were facts though. And the facts were that Prompto used up the most curatives, ran into the most hangups in dungeons, and Noctis tended to put himself in harm’s way to try and help the kid. Gladio felt a little bad about comparing the kid to a weapon in his head, but he knew that Ignis was on the same page. Prompto was a completely functional and useful member to their unit, and that had remained true so far, but eventually weapons needed to be either upgraded, or replaced. And if Prompto couldn’t rise to the ever increasing stakes, then…

 

Well, then.

 

….

 

The thing Gladio forgets to account for is that Prompto has always had a habit of proving everyone’s expectations wrong in a spectacular fashion. It starts with a simple conversation while they’re taking a rare bout of rest at the Longwythe motel. 

 

Lately they’ve taken to having Noctis practice against them all at Havens, not just to keep up on training for the Prince and make sure he never falters in his impressive crowd control, but also to test their own skills as Noctis’ guard. Because even though Gladio will always win against Noct in a test of swordplay and strength, and Ignis will always have an edge in finesse and precision compared to the Prince, and no one can shoot or make those machines work like Prompto can, the fact remains clear. In an all out, no-holding back fight, not a one of them really stands a chance against Noctis unless they specifically go for cheap tactics. 

 

And so with the ever increasing drop-ships appearing above them on the road, and Altissia coming up closer and closer with each new Royal Arm obtained, Ignis had suggested that they all partake in a bit more practice. It doesn’t reveal anything that they don’t already know. Gladio will win against Noctis head-on, more than familiar with the Prince’s tactics at taking down a bigger enemy at close range. But as soon as Noctis pulls out the elemancy, then Gladio’s pretty much a goner, because if the magic doesn’t knock him on his ass outright, then whatever fancy maneuver Noct pulls when Gladio’s trying to cover will do so definitively not too long after. Ignis is a little more difficult. Not nearly as predictable as Noct can sometimes be, Gladio’s record of besting Ignis significantly less one-sided. They’ve each won a near equal amount of times, but most of the time, they concede to a draw. 

 

Iggy fights smart and ruthless, and generally allows Gladio to be the aggressor, pushing back only when he’s confident that he’ll hit. The advisor also has a significant skill in elemancy, and though it’s not as final as Noct’s can be, Iggy’s spelldaggers will do a harsh amount of damage over time. Ignis generally isn’t able to best Noctis most of the time though, because the advisor’s strength is in cutting an enemy down slowly, or taking a fatal strike immediately. And because Iggy obviously won’t plunge a dagger into Noct’s sternum when he has the opening, he has to rely on trying to bring Noct down gradually, which generally just doesn’t work against someone who can control distance as well as the Prince can. He puts up a damn tenacious fight though, and Noct has significant trouble bringing Gladio and Ignis down when they work together. 

 

Gladio has never sparred against Prompto somehow, even after all this time. Cor trained Prompto personally, had him run the occasional drills with other instructors, had Monica pitch in with the blonde’s firearm training. And then the Marshal had paired Noctis and Prompto for training matches against other Crownsguard, because with the limited time that they had, it was really only important for Prompto to learn how work directly alongside Noctis. Collaborating with Gladio and Ignis would have to come with time. Luckily enough, Prompto has never accidentally shot any of them, and has always seemed to have an awareness in order to compliment their attacks with his own and not get in the way most of the time. 

 

That being said, Prompto going against Noctis is one of the most one-sided matches that Gladio has ever seen. When the MTs had started dropping more frequently, Gladio had taken to bringing the blond occasionally to test Noct’s phasing capabilities. But the moment that Noct decided to fight back, the match was his. Prompto is fast, easily the fastest of them all on foot, but Noctis renders that null by warping. And phasing basically makes it so that Prompto almost never hits Noct in a sparring match, while Noct can bring the blonde down in a few well-timed strikes. Even when they all go at Noct at the same time, which they’ve been trying recently, Prompto is normally the first one to go, and if he isn’t he doesn’t do any real damage to Noctis unless he uses one of his crazy machines, which are predictable.

 

And so Gladio has no grand desire to try and spar against Prompto, because if the blonde does so badly against Noctis, whom Gladio knows holds back whenever they fight, then Gladio has no intentions of going against the blonde when it’s clear that neither one of them will get anything out of it. 

 

That is, until he tunes into Prompto’s conversation with Ignis and Noct.

 

“I imagine that we’ll be having little trouble with the actual marks of this particular hunt,” Iggy is saying, poised in one of the arm chairs in the room flipping through a handful of papers, “but this path takes us on a familiar stretch of road that we’ve encountered a troublesome amount of imperial interference. I’d actually wager there to be base offroad somewhere around the area, but we’ve little time to worry about that if we want to get enough gil to finish repairing the daemon-repelling headlights.”

 

“So we go on this hunt expecting to fight a bunch of MTs on the way and potentially while we’re fighting the mark,” Noctis sums up lazily, casually draped across Prompto’s back as though they aren’t currently occupying a perfectly useful bed. “Not gonna lie Specs, sounds like standard affairs by now.”

 

Gladio says nothing, instead choosing to focus on more on his book, but he certainly sees Noct’s point. Ignis seems like he’s trying to talk more preparations for an enemy that they are all more than acquainted with.

 

“Indeed,” Ignis nods, “but surely you’ve noticed something about our more recent run-ins with the machines?”

 

“...No?” Noctis mutters, poking at Prompto’s neck. Who doesn’t react at all, completely engrossed on the photos of the day, sprawled on his stomach on the bed and seemingly content to let the Prince use him as one as well. 

 

“Gladio?” 

 

The Shield looks up to meet Iggy’s expectant gaze, unsure of where the advisor’s going with this.

 

“Seems like they’ve been the same to me,” he responds honestly. The MTs are more of an annoyance than an actual threat at this point, to be perfectly honest. Ignis sighs that sigh that he sighs when he wants to call them all idiots but is refraining because he’s supposedly too polite for that. Gladio shrugs, not taking offence. If there’s been a change in the MTs, then naturally Ignis has noticed it, but it’s obviously not been a big one if neither he nor Noctis have noticed, even though they fight the damn things in hordes multiple times a day. Which means it hasn’t affecting their fighting against them, which means Gladio doesn’t really have to worry about the specifics just yet.

 

“Prompto?” Ignis tries, already seeming like he’s expecting the same answer. Gladio thinks that the advisor is just setting himself up for disappointment now. If Prompto had noticed something, he’d have certainly pointed it out in the moment. 

 

“Uh…” the blonde looks up, face twisted in confusion. “Other than the fact that they take a few more hits to take down...no?”

 

Gladio finds his attention immediately drawn to the gunner at this. Because that’s not something that he’s noticed at all, but Ignis is already heaving the relieved sigh that he sighs when he is proven wrong about being surrounded by idiots. 

 

“That happens to be exactly what I was referring to,” Ignis nods in approval, “thank you, Prompto?”

 

“Uh…” Noct sounds as confused as Gladio feels, “... but they haven’t?”

 

Prompto gives a little laugh, “Yeah well, it’s not like you’d necessarily notice when you warp in and then chop their heads off with one of those big swords.”

 

“Huh,” Gladio murmurs curiously. Prompto is right about that, both Noctis and Gladio himself tend to bring down the MTs with one or two very powerful strikes. But for someone like Ignis, who either takes to time to locate an insta-kill oppurtunity or has to play the long game, and someone like Prompto, who almost never has an insta-kill opportunity with three grown men moving in and out of his way, the fact that the MTs are apparently becoming sturdier is definitely something to take note of. 

 

And if Gladio really thinks on it right now, he supposes that he does recall having to try a bit harder to pull his sword through the midsection of the blasted machines. A quick glance shows that Noctis is coming to the same conclusion. 

 

“I guess you might be onto something Specs,” the Prince muses, “but what does that mean for us right at this moment? We still don’t have any trouble taking them down, and they only time we ever come out with injuries is when our luck is shit enough that they hop down at the same time the daemons pop up.”

 

“I’m worried that this means that Niflheim’s automated army seems to be getting stronger,” Ignis responds studiously, “obviously not at an exponential rate, seeing as though you both remain unaffected by the recent change, but if they’ve somehow found a way to improve upon their design, then I worry what other things they might improve upon.”

 

“You think that they’ll be less easy to take down,” Gladio surmises. It’s a fair worry, if Niflheim is making them sturdier, then it stands to reason that they’ll make them smarter as well, if it’s within their capabilities.

 

“Well if the MTs can take more hits, then that sucks,” Prompto nods, “but at least we don’t have to worry about them self-learning or anything scary like that.”

 

There’s a pause. Noct seems completely unmoved, nodding his head like he doesn’t really understand but is taking Prompto at his word. Ignis and Gladio share a skeptical look though, because it seems like that’s exactly what Iggy was about say he was worried about.

 

“You’d argue that there’s no chance of them becoming self-learning?” Ignis questions.

 

“Well not  _ no chance  _ obviously,” Prompto responds easily. “But a super low chance, definitely.” 

 

“Care to share with the class?” Gladio asks, not to be contrary, but because Ignis doesn’t come up with worries or fears like this overnight. 

 

“Have you ever programmed something?” Prompto asks simply, “Like an app, or a computer?”

 

“No,” Gladio closes his book and settles in. 

 

“I cannot say that I have,” Ignis admits.

 

“You did that assignment for me in highschool, remember?” Noctis says aloud, before his eyes widen and he swears under his breath. 

 

Ignis arches a brow, “...and to think that your teacher called to say that she was very impressed with your work.”

 

“Weren’t you going somewhere with that, Prom?” the Prince asks nervously.

 

“Hm? Oh,” Prompto perks up. “Yeah! I was about to say that even programming something at that small level requires super specific instructions and code if you’re going to set it off by itself with just a few orders, which I assume is what Niflheim does with the MTs.” 

 

“But they all act pretty much the same right?” The blonde goes on. “They attack in lines, they always go for Noctis first, but divert their attention to the nearest aggressor if they can’t reach him. They all get buffed by the fields the bases let off, and they all slow down in reaction time the further away from a base that we are. Which means that they’re connected to the same wavelength, most likely. Probably get orders the same way at the same time from the same source.”

 

Gladio whistles, impressed. 

 

“Damn kid,” he comments, “how’d you figure all that out?”

 

“Uh…” Prompto runs a sheepish hand through his hair, “I...just understand tech stuff?”

 

“He  _ looked _ ,” Noctis cuts in, “is what he’s trying to avoid saying because he doesn’t want to be rude or something.”

 

“N-Noct!” Prompto protests.

 

“Admit it,” Noctis laughs good-naturedly, “you figured all that out a while ago and never said anything because you figured that we’d noticed too, right?”

 

“I mean…”

 

“Now that you point it out,” Ignis says conversationally, but Gladio can see that he’s also slightly taken aback by just how easy Prompto made deducing that seem. “It does seem in line with the behavior that we’ve observed, but what makes you think that they cannot simply reprogram the MTs to become self-learning beings? Or that they’re not already?”

 

“Well,” Prompto hums thoughtfully, “you can’t control self-aware beings as easily as you can those that aren’t. And since they mass-produce them, it would take one hell of a rewrite in order make all of them suddenly adapt to more situations beyond what their orders specify. And if they were already self-learning, then we’d be dead, most likely.”

 

Gladio’s eyebrows shoot up at that, and Ignis doesn’t even try to look his look of skepticism. Noctis, for his part, seems to lean further into Prompto’s back, as though he’s heard this before. 

 

“How so?” Ignis puts the papers down on the coffee table before him, giving the blonde his full attention. Gladio leans forward as well, eager to hear this.

 

“Well we’re not exactly a difficult group to learn,” Prompto says casually, going back down to look at his pictures as though he’s not rocking Iggy’s foundations at the moment. “We either fight safe, or aggressive, and if the MTs were really able to analyze a situation like a self-aware AI would be able to, then they’d have  our habits down pretty quickly. Especially considering they attack us so often.” 

 

“You would argue that we’re a predictable fighting force,” Ignis questions. His voice is calm, but Gladio can hear him about to get offended. The Shield can empathize, it’s not exactly a good feeling to be told that you’re predictable enough that a bunch of mindless machines should be able to kill you. And Gladio’s not the one responsible for making the strategy calls most of the times. It’s normally Iggy, sometimes Noct (who  _ still  _ doesn’t seem bothered or surprised at anything that Prompto is saying).

 

“Well,  _ yeah _ .” Prompto shrugs. “There’s no good reason for us not to be, we either fight monsters or MTs, and neither one of those groups are the brightest bunch. Our game plans almost always work for us, the only time we really do something different is when we have to go up against a big bad.”

 

Gladio wants to be annoyed at this, but he’d be lying if he didn’t say that he understands what Prompto is saying. They’re a pretty well-oiled machine, only having to make changes to the formula when going up against a particularly hard foe or taking on a more dangerous dungeon. Even in times where Noct likes to play the wild card, they’re all so used to jumping in after him that it comes naturally. Or when Prompto ends up overwhelmed, Ignis and Gladio have a secret system for covering for Noct who will undoubtedly rush to the blonde’s aide.

 

“You truly believe that even if we do have these game plans as you so put,” Ignis presses, “that we’d be dead if the MTs were able to study and learn them?”

 

“Yep,” Prompto shrugs, clicking through the camera. “I mean, the axeman and the sword fighters, we’d be able to adapt to, I’m sure. But if their gunmen were smart, we’d be fucked.”

 

“Oh really?” Gladio nearly snorts at this, because the MT gun users are easily the dumbest of the bunch, and the most fragile. “I’m a little less afraid of the bullets than the blades, to be honest.”

 

He doesn’t mean it in any type of way, but Gladio can see how Prompto might take offense to it. And take offence the blonde does.   
  


“You should be,” the blonde looks up with the rare look of irritation he only adopts when they’ve managed to push just the right button. “Any gunman worthy of the name would have us flat on our back in no time with those numbers.” 

 

“So you’re saying that you could lay me flat, then?” Gladio challenges, maybe a little mean. But Prompto’s talking a lot, and Gladio has yet to see anything on this entire trip that backs up the kid’s words. Prompto huffs.

 

“ _ Now _ you’ve went and done it,” Noctis mutters, somehow sounding sleepy and delighted all at the same time.

 

“When you swing your sword overhead,” Gladio’s never heard such a deadpan tone out of Prompto before, “you arch your back a little to get the right leverage, you keep your elbows in close just in case you have to guard your torso at the last second, and you step forward with your right foot.”

 

The kid makes unabashed eye contact with Gladio, violet-blue eyes sharp in annoyance.

 

“If I was off to your right side, I’d put one in your kneecap and you’d go down when you tried to follow through,” Prompto says quietly, “If I had a height vantage point, I’d put one in your sternum, because a bullet is small enough to get through whatever block you make with your elbows. And if I was slightly behind you at an angle, I’d put one in your spine, and well...you can imagine the rest.” 

 

Gladio’s jaw drops.

 

“Iggy keeps his arms close to him when he uses his daggers,” Prompto goes on, “But he tends to fully extend his legs in most movements when he tries to get distance. If I had cover, or was out of range of his daggers, I’d go for his knees too. It’s a bit different when he uses a spear. He has to lower his center of gravity and thrust with both arms to get a really good strike with that, so I’d probably try and get a clean headshot in the aftermath of one of his attacks. He’d be super easy to get in the midsection if he did one of those flips with his spear grounding him to dodge. Blades can’t reach, but a well-time shot sure can.”

 

The Shield looks over to see that Ignis is stunned. Like, visibly stunned. Face studiously blank but eyes sharp on Prompto like he’s never seen the kid before. And they may as well have never seen Prompto before, because what the actual fuck?

 

“Noct has to throw his weapons to get a warp strike to work,” Prompto continues still, “so I’d go for his shoulders to fuck up his trajectory, and then shoot for his left side wherever he landed. Hell, if Niflheim was really smart, they’d plant a sniper and have them follow whatever Noct throws with the sights. It takes Noct exactly three seconds to appear where the weapon appears. Most bullets from a sniper rifle travel around 3000 feet per second.”

 

Ignis visibly flinches at this, and Gladio merely stares. This cannot be the same Prompto that screams when they fight killer wasps. This guy that talks like a fucking assassin.  _ Or _ , Gladio realizes,  _ a trained firearm specialist _ . 

 

“Now these are all ideal shots under conditions which I wouldn’t be interrupted, but if I had those numbers that the MT gunmen have, it’d just be a matter of time. Guns can fuck you up.” Prompto concludes, “But like I said, the MTs aren’t self-learning, so we shouldn't really have to worry about that.”

 

Silence.

 

“So...yeah, you probably don’t have to worry too much Iggy,” Prompto says, suddenly awkward. “I don’t think you have to be alarmed until we see a rifleman try to take actual cover rather than slowly walk over to us from the other side of the field.”

 

“I...see.” Ignis responds slowly, seeming to be genuinely at a loss for words. Not a small feat. “I...apologize for questioning you,” the advisor offers gracefully, “I’ve obviously underestimated your expertise on the subject.”

 

_ You and me both, _ Gladio thinks, but doesn’t say. Because Prompto is already waving Ignis off and smiling.

 

“Eh, no harm done!” the blonde says loftily.

 

“So if you’re that much of a wiz with a gun,” Gladio asks suddenly, “why don’t you lay  _ everything  _ flat, like you can apparently do with us if you really wanted to?”

 

Because it’s obvious to Gladio now that Prompto is far more observant than they’ve given him credit for, but what good is that if the guy only uses it  _ against  _ them?

 

“Well,” Prompto shrugs, “like I said, all of those hypotheticals were ideal shots made under ideal conditions. Us fighting mobs of monsters or MTs or daemons...aren’t exactly ideal conditions. Hard to line up a shot like that when you all are running around flipping and swinging and warping.”

 

“I see,” Ignis cuts back in before Gladio can say anything in response. “I suppose I can understand how having to account for the rest of our positions would make sharpshooting a bit difficult in most circumstances. I must say that you perform quite admirably even with that factor to keep in mind.”

 

“That being said,” Ignis goes on, a glint in his eyes as he observes Prompto as though he’s seeing the kid for the first time. “I think now is a good time to go and restock on some essentials, I’d like to start dinner preparations promptly, we should aim to leave early tomorrow morning.”

 

Gladio remains silent, leaning back in his own chair and watching as Ignis invites Prompto to go along with him under the guise of having a helping hand. The Shield knows that it’s merely an excuse for Iggy to pick the blonde’s brain more. After all, having someone point out all the ways that they can all be incapacitated as they fight now in under five minutes must have shaken the strategist in Ignis. For good reason, because no matter how much Prompto spouts off about ideal conditions or whatever, the fact that the blonde always manages to get pictures of them all mid-battle means that he could make an ideal condition if he really was so inclined. 

 

“You’re gonna deprive me of my heated pillow?” Noctis whines, but allows Prompto to slip from underneath him with minimal struggle. 

 

“Oh I see how it is,” Prompto laments dramatically, “that’s all that I am to you? A pillow?”

 

“A  _ heated  _ pillow.” Noct replies shamelessly.

 

“The heartbreak!” Prompto puts his hand to his chest, “the  _ betrayal _ !”

 

“I am quite sure that you’ll have an opportunity to use Prompto as a pillow later, Noct.” Ignis says dryly, tugging the blonde in question along with him impatiently. “We’ll not be more than an hour, I do sincerely promise to return him to you in peak condition.”

 

“You better,” Noctis responds in a seemingly amused voice, but Gladio hears the protective edge to it, and that means that Ignis hears it too. It’s the Prince’s subtle warning to Ignis to not grill Prompto to the point of stressing the blonde out, because a stressed Prompto is an anxious Prompto, and an anxious Prompto means a snippy Noctis. Ignis merely nods, and then leaves the room with the blonde in tow.

 

The room is silent for a moment as Gladio regards Noctis. He thinks about Noct’s complete lack of surprise at Prompto’s statements. 

 

“Just ask,” the Prince mutters impatiently.

 

“You and Prompto have talked about this before,” Gladio doesn’t pose it as a question.

 

“Not this specifically,” Noctis shakes his head, “but back after we did that base in with Cor, he mentioned how much the MT snipers actually sucked. I asked him why he thought that, he answered.”

 

“That...was months ago,” Gladio stares at Noctis. And not too long after the news of Insomnia’s fall reached them. Well before they started sparring when they camped out. “Prompto doesn’t try,” the Shield realizes, “when you two are sparring, he doesn’t actually try to hit you.”

 

“Of course he doesn’t,” Noctis chuckles, as though this is the most simple fact of the world. “Did you know that I can’t actually avoid a bullet entirely by phasing? It’ll always at least graze me, unless it was only going to graze me anyway. His bullets can’t kill me, but they damn sure hurt when he gets me, and those wounds don’t heal as fast or as neat as cuts or bruises. I feel it for days after, Prom hates it, so he only shoots where he knows I’ll phase away completely.”

 

Gladio is dumbfounded, “So everytime you two spar, you’re really just fooling around, even when Prompto is supposed to be helping me and Iggy?”

 

“I still get better at phasing,” Noct shrugs, “he gets better at predicting my warps. There’s nothing we can do out here that Cor hasn’t already had us do. Except for his crazy ass exploding thing.  _ Damn _ , does it hurt to get hit with that.”

 

Gladio is inclined to agree, because while he’s never been on the receiving of Prompto’s recoil maneuver, Noct always goes down immediately if the blonde so much as brushes him with it. The Shield had no idea that Prompto’s training with Noctis was that intensive though. He and Ignis had always been under the impression that it was to get Prompto used to fighting around Noct. They’d never considered that Cor would have had the two spar together. Though they probably should have. 

 

“Noct,” Gladio admonishes, “you guys can’t hide things like that from us.”

 

It’s one thing if Prompto’s useful but not impressive, Gladio has accounted for that, has safety measure in place just in case things go wrong based around the fact that Prompto can fight well enough to cover their backs. He has not accounted for the fact that Prompto could quite literally kill them if he had the opportunity and the desire. And obviously the blonde has no desire to harm them, hence why he skirts around the battlefield and takes tiny openings instead of potentially getting the rest of them to take the big ones.

 

“Who’s  _ hiding _ ?” Noctis sits up, fixing Gladio with a harsh gaze. “Prompto shot seven of those wasps clear out of the sky in one shot last week, Gladio. It took the rest of us to bring down the other  _ five _ . And remember when he shot out that griffins wings and brought it down so we could finish it? Or when shot the heads off those two MTs  _ as they were dropping from the ship _ ? Or when he used that piercer ammo- that he mods himself, mind you- to break one of that Iron Giants fingers? Or when used the gravity well to gather those three gurangatchs together and then exploded them? Or when-”

 

“Ok, Ok!” Gladio waves his hands in front of him, “I get it already!”

 

“No, you don’t.” Noct snaps, “And neither does Ignis. All you both see is when he gets to close to an enemy and gets hurt and has to use a potion because of it. Or when gets swarmed by monsters and I go to bail him out because he only defense at close range is his hands and feet and that circular saw. Or when he complains that he’s scared when we go into a dungeon.”

 

Gladio clenches his jaw. But doesn’t respond, because Noct is right. Instances like those aren’t exactly common, but they happen often enough that Gladio and Ignis tend not to even notice the extraordinary moments like what Noct was describing earlier.

 

“Nevermind that the only reason he gets in close is because he can’t get a shot in without possibly hitting one of us, and that I would need twice as many potions as him if I didn’t have  _ literal magic _ coursing through my veins constantly repaired little the tiny things. Nevermind that him and I work well together, and when I warp over to help him, he helps me just as much. Nevermind that he has a clinically diagnosed anxiety disorder and claustrophobia is one of his worst symptoms but he follows us anyway even though it’s harder to shoot or use his machines or even  _ breath _ .”

 

Gladio sighs, feeling any potential combativeness bleed out of his form. Noctis has a point in every statement that he’s made, but none hit quite as hard as the last one. Because Gladio knows that Prompto struggles with anxiety. They all do, it was fully disclosed when Cor gave the go ahead for Prompto to join them on the road. 

 

“I get it,” the Shield repeats. And he does. Gladio feels good and chastised now, bordering on feeling ashamed of himself. Because not only has he grossly underestimated Prompto in his head, he also never really showed the blonde the consideration he deserves for his anxiety disorder. It’s hard to remember sometimes, when all of Prompto’s complaints and gripes come out humorous and sarcastic, that the blonde is being completely serious about how badly he’s feeling at times. “Blondie’s a badass,” Gladio concludes, “and I should start respecting that more.”

 

“Damn straight he’s a badass,” Noctis grins, proud and fierce, and Gladio is suddenly reminded of the fact that Noctis handpicked Prompto for his personal Guard and eventually his first Kingsglaive. Prompto has been the only one that Noctis himself has picked, by his own desire, and the blonde has proven to be more than a worthy choice. Gladio’s surprised that Noctis has ever let Gladio and Ignis go on doubting his choice. 

 

But then again, looking at Noct’s smug face right now, Gladio realizes that there’s no reason to be surprised. Noctis has been waiting for just this moment to come around. For Prompto to prove them wrong. Like the blonde has always done in the past.

 

Gladio chuckles, shaking his head. 

 

…

 

“Yo blondie,” the Shield asks, two days later when they’ve set up camp at a Haven on the way to Lestallum.

 

“Yeah big guy?” Prompto looks up from his phone. Gladio grins.

 

“Wanna spar?”

**Author's Note:**

> So correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like there's some official material somewhere that states that Prompto undertook training for the trip a month before the start of the game? I don't quite remember where I read that, but I could be totally off about that, but that's the canon that this story is working with. 
> 
> So like, a month. Being able to do all of what Prompto does at the start of the game in a month? Dude's a prodigy child I tell you, and I felt like I really wanted to explore what being a gunner meant for Prompto as far as approaching fighting with the crew. Because to be honest, he's in kind of a shit situation to be a firearm user. The boys fight in closed in spaces all the time in the game, not to mention Noctis goes warping everywhere, Ignis goes flipping everywhere, and Gladio is just big and in the way. So if we're working under the assumption that Prompto doesn't consistently friendly fire on the guys, then that means he's severely limiting his own capabilities in the interest of not harming them. The fact that you can pick up pretty much any type of firearm in Episode Prompto and clean house with them also leads me to believe that Prom is very aware of how a lot of guns work, and can plainly see that the MTs are actually shit at handling them if they can take the guys down with just how large their numbers are sometimes. 
> 
> Speaking of Ep. Prom. This obviously takes place before that, so Prom isn't quite aware of his origins. What he's surmising about the MTs is just him drawing up his tech savvy knowledge and applying it in a logical fashion. That being said, I'm not a programmer, so my sincerest apologies if I didn't represent his knowledge on the topic very well, but I certainly tried.
> 
> No one will ever have me believe that Noctis would not wholeheartedly support and defend Prompto's skills. Or that he wouldn't be aware of them. 
> 
> Anways, I hope you all enjoyed! This was a oneshot made during November, but I suppose if any type of inspiration strikes, then I can post a sort of follow up! But this is all for now, so stay happy and healthy. See y'all next time!


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